William Cochran creates large scale public artworks and art processes that contribute to sustainable cities and healthy communities. Working with his partner Teresa, he collaborates with city officials, public agencies, NGOs, design teams, and cultural organizations to create, oversee and facilitate catalytic work that is known for its careful architectural integration, design quality, craftsmanship and community engagement.

RECENT NEWS and CURRENT PROJECTS:

Cochran recently completed a radical redesign of the streetscape for the historic city center of Cumberland, Maryland. The project is thought to be the first artist-designed streetscape in the nation. The design plan includes a Public Art Master Plan and is viewable here.

Cochran completed the Public Art Master Plan for the new downtown areas of Columbia, Maryland and is working with The Howard Hughes Corporation to implement the new artworks called for in the plan.

William and Teresa were featured speakers at the recent Virginia Commission for the Arts Conference in Richmond.

The team recently completed The Shining Dark for the Maryland Transit Administration in West Baltimore, and Desire Lines, a permanent abstract painting installation that anchors a cultural pedestrian corridor in downtown Bethesda, Maryland.

Pillar of Fire in Washington DC was selected as one of the top 100 public artworks internationally in recent years by a distinguished panel of professional designers for CODAWorx.

The Merriweather Horns: Cochran Studio is part of a team of internationally recognized designers including Martha Schwartz Partners and Mahan Rykiel Associates for a cultural park in Symphony Woods at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland. William designed five large-scale illuminated sculptures that produce musical soundscapes from sounds made by wildlife.

Centennial Sculpture Park at the Memorial Art Gallery of the University of Rochester, a major design focus of the studio from 2007 to 2011, won the Robert Macon Award for Urban Innovation in October 2013, the 2012 Project of the Year Award from the American Public Works Association for Regional Transportation Projects and a New York State ASLA Chapter Award, and one of the top four grants in the nation from the National Endowment for the Arts, the latter a grant initiative spearheaded by the studio.

Cornerstone, the civil rights memorial that anchors a corner of the new Rockville Town Square, received a historic preservation award for unearthing and celebrating key aspects of 250 years of black history at the core of Rockville.